How Red Hat Won Big on Earnings

By Chris Lange Updated Jan 12, 10:52AM EST · Published Jun 20, 4:29PM EDT

Follow 24/7 Wall St. on Google

This post may contain links from our sponsors and affiliates, and Flywheel Publishing may receive compensation for actions taken through them.

How Red Hat Won Big on Earnings — © Thinkstock

Red Hat Inc. (NYSE: RHT) reported fiscal first quarter financial results after markets close Tuesday. The company said that it had $0.56 in earnings per share (EPS) and $677 million in revenue compared with consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters that called for $0.53 in EPS and $647.84 million in revenue. The same period last year reportedly had EPS of $0.50 and $567.9 million in revenue.

Subscription revenue from Infrastructure-related offerings for the quarter was $458 million, an increase of 14% from last year, and 14% in constant currency. Subscription revenue from Application Development-related and other emerging technologies offerings for the quarter totaled $139 million, an increase of 41%, or 42% in constant currency.

At the end of the first quarter, the company’s total deferred revenue balance was $2.05 billion, an increase of 21%.

[nativounit]

In terms of guidance for the second fiscal quarter, the company expects to see revenues in the range of $695 million to $702 million and EPS is expected to be $0.67. The consensus estimates are calling for $0.65 in EPS and $677.42 million in revenue for the coming quarter.

Operating cash flow was $258 million for the first quarter, an increase of 11% year over year. On the books, cash, cash equivalents and investments totaled $2.31 billion.

Jim Whitehurst, President and CEO of Red Hat, commented:

The first quarter was a strong start to FY18, with double digit growth across a number of our financial metrics, including 19% total revenue growth in U.S. dollars or 20% measured in constant currency and over 40% growth in our Application Development-related and other emerging technology revenue. We continued to benefit from our ability to deliver important foundational and cloud enabling technologies, which help our customers to modernize and manage their infrastructure and application development platforms for the hybrid cloud.

Shares of Red Hat closed Tuesday at $89.96, with a consensus analyst price target of $95.20 and a 52-week range of $68.54 to $92.49. Following the announcement the stock was up 10% at $98.70 in the after-hours trading session.

[wallst_email_signup]

About the Author Chris Lange →

Chris Lange is a writer for 24/7 Wall St., based in Houston. He has covered financial markets over the past decade with an emphasis on healthcare, tech, and IPOs. During this time, he has published thousands of articles with insightful analysis across these complex fields. Currently, Lange's focus is on military and geopolitical topics.

Lange's work has been quoted or mentioned in Forbes, The New York Times, Business Insider, USA Today, MSN, Yahoo, The Verge, Vice, The Intelligencer, Quartz, Nasdaq, The Motley Fool, Fox Business, International Business Times, The Street, Seeking Alpha, Barron’s, Benzinga, and many other major publications.

A graduate of Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, Lange majored in business with a particular focus on investments. He has previous experience in the banking industry and startups.